The Museum of Fine Arts Houston

“The following mfah board members share a family relationship: cornelia c. Long, mary cullen, rosanette s. Cullen, martha katherine wade, and nina o'leary zilkha - family relationship william n. Mathis and holbrook f. Dorn - family relationship clare atwell glassell and alfred c. Glassell iii - family relationship the following mfah board members share a business relationship: windi grimes and laurie morian”

“Form 990 was reviewed prior to filing with the audit committee by the chief financial officer and controller. A paid independent accounting firm reviewed form 990. The form 990 was distributed to all members of the board of trustees prior to filing. The cfo, controller, and director were available to all members of the audit committee and board to answer questions.”

“All trustees and committee members, voting or non-voting, receive a conflict of interest questionnaire at the start of each fiscal year. The completed forms are returned to the office of the chief financial officer. Each trustee committee chair is familiar with the museum of fine arts, houston's conflict of interest policy and enforces the policy at the committee level as required. Any conflicts identified at a committee meeting are reflected in the committee minutes and the conflicted party leaves the room and does not participate in the vote.”

“The museum of fine arts, houston has a compensation sub-committee chaired by the chairman of the committee, includes four voting trustee members and one committee consultant. Comparative data for similar positions in united states museums are reviewed along with a minimum of a four to five year compensation history. Additionally, the committee establishes specific criteria for compensation decisions.”

“All documents required by law to be made available to the public are available. The audited financial statements are made available through the museum of fine arts, houston website.”

“Established in 1900 as a modest education initiative to bring art to houston public schools, the museum of fine arts, houston (mfah) remains steadfast in its mission to serve as a place for all people through excellence in the collection, exhibition, preservation, conservation, and interpretation of art. To that end, mfah public programming actively seeks to connect the institution with the community through exhibitions and activities held across houston. Each year, visitors engage with the museum's permanent collection of nearly 80,000 masterpieces from around the world, and with the artists and objects featured in special presentations and programs. By providing a broad range of educational and artistic activities, the museum seeks to capture the vibrant patchwork of houston's unique culture and to respond to the interests and needs of a diverse population. Thus, the vision of inclusion and accessibility on which the mfah was founded endures on through its innovative programs, which engage the entire community in the arts and in celebration of the diverse forms of creativity that intrigue, inspire, and excite us all.”

“The mfah is the largest cultural institution south of chicago, west of washington, d.c., and east of los angeles, with a total of 370,000 square feet of space dedicated to the display of art. The majority of the museum's presentations take place on its main 14-acre walkable susan and fayez s. Sarofim campus, comprising the caroline wiess law building, the audrey jones beck building, the nancy and rich kinder building for modern & contemporary art, the glassell school of art, and the lillie and hugh roy cullen sculpture garden. Within these buildings, exhibition galleries reside alongside the oldest repertory cinema in houston and one of the largest art libraries in the southwest. The sarah campbell blaffer foundation center for conservation houses a state of the art conservation facility. Nearby are two remarkable house museums - bayou bend, given to the museum by texas philanthropist ima hogg, and rienzi, the former home of art patrons carroll and harris masterson, iii - providing exquisite settings for visitors to experience the museum's renowned american and european decorative arts collections in context. Over the years, the mfah has been privileged to acquire outstanding works of art representing a wide variety of geographic regions and historic periods. Particular strengths lie in pre-columbian art, renaissance and baroque painting and sculpture, 19th and 20th century art, african-american art, photography, and latin american art. Bayou bend houses one of the finest assemblages of early american furniture, silver, ceramics, and paintings outside of new england; rienzi showcases one of the most important collections of english porcelain outside of the united kingdom. Chief among the museum's current acquisition, exhibition, and scholarship priorities are the arts of the americas, the islamic world, and asia. The mfah established the international center for the arts of the americas, a research institution designed to address the widespread lag in scholarship and collection of latin american and latino art. The museum has established a department of islamic art, which is devoted to building a renowned permanent collection, organizing innovative exhibitions of islamic art, and hosting stimulating educational and interpretive programs. At the same time, the museum is also deepening its commitment to asian art, actively seeking to increase its relevant holdings and promote cultural understanding. Bayou bend collection and gardens, the mfah house museum for american decorative arts, includes the lora jean kilroy visitor and education center. The visitor center features an orientation gallery, a library, two meeting rooms, public terraces, and ample parking. Designed by houston architect leslie k. Elkins, the building achieved a leed silver certification for its environmental efficiencies. The new and expanded glassell school of art is housed in a 93,000 square foot building on montrose boulevard. The mfah's world-renowned conservation department resides in the sarah campbell blaffer foundation center for conservation. Situated above the west side of the museum's visitor's center and fannin parking garage, the state of the art facility unites the museum's conservation team under one roof and in close proximity to the museum. The nancy and rich kinder building, devoted to the museum's international collections of modern and contemporary art, was designed by steven holl architects as the third mfah gallery building on the museum's susan and fayez s. Sarofim campus. The building is dedicated to presenting works from the museum's international collections of modern and contemporary art, and includes works drawn from the collections of latin american and latino art; photography; prints and drawings; decorative arts, craft and design; and modern and contemporary art.”

“Offering art education, studio instruction, and community outreach, the mfah is dedicated to supporting research and cultivating innovation within the arts and related disciplines. The mfah is partnering with rice university to pursue leading-edge scientific research aimed at advancing current techniques for art conservation. With generous support from the andrew w. Mellon foundation, the museum has established a research science program dedicated to thorough investigation and analysis of works of art. In a related effort, the museum developed an art conservation database (acd), a web-based database that will provide a system for easily accessing conservation records, informing all collection procedures and policies, and serving as a national model for conservation data management and collection care.”